Compressed air actuating means for notching cards



Sept. 1, 1942. T. c. ANDREWS COMPRESSED AIR ACTUATING MEANS FOR NOTCHINGCARDS Original Filed Aug. 13, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l A rroe/vf Y Sept. 1,1942.

T. c. ANDRE WS COMPRESSED AIR ACTUATING MEANS FOR NOTCHING CARDSOriginal Filed Aug. 1,3, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 //VI/ 70 w TTOR/VE Y p1942- T. c. ANDREWS COMPRESSED AIR ACTUATING MEANS FOR NOTCHING CARDSOriginal Filed Aug. 13, 1940 I5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Sept. 1, 1942COMPRESSED AIR ACTUATING MEANS FOR NOTCHIN G CARDS Thomas ColemanAndrews, Richmond, Va.

Original application August 13, 1940, Serial No.

352,456, now Patent No. 2,261,710, dated November 4, 1941.

Divided and this application April 26, 1941, Serial No. 390,522

8 Claims.

My invention relates to that class of machines described in myco-pending application, Ser. No. 352,456, filed August 13, 1940, nowPatent No. 2,261,710, issued November 4, 1941, of which this applicationis a division. Machines of the type described are designed to seriallynumber by printing or the like each card as it passes through themachine and subsequently to notch the edge of the card with a pattern ofnotches to designate the card by the number printed thereon. Thisnotching the edge of a card with a pattern of notches referring to asingle numerical classification is in accordance with the well-knownKeysort system manufactured by The McBee Company of Athens, Ohio, underthe patents issued to Perkins, No. 1,544,172 and No. 1,739,087. Cards ofthis type can be quickly and expeditiously sorted into numerical orother sequence after they have been indiscriminately mixed by the users.It is however of vital importance that the notching be performedcorrectly so that it will correspond with the number printed on the faceof the card. When this notching is performed manually by the user oreven with a standard key punch the human equation is more or less liableto allow errors to creep in.

My invention has for its principal object to provide a machine whichwill automatically print a desired number on a card and then punch apattern of notches in the edge of the card corresponding to the printednumber; as the two operations are synchronized the danger of errors isreduced to a minimum.

A further object of my invention is to provide a fluid control meanssuch as air, liquids, vapors, or gases under suitable pressure eitherbelow or above atmospheric pressure.

My means of accomplishing the foregoing objects may be more fullycomprehended by having reference to the accompanying drawings, which arehereunto annexed and are a part of this specification in which similarreference numerals refer to similar arts throughout:

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the belt feed and gear train mechanismsfor operating my device;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the structure shown in Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged and somewhat diagrammatic longitudinal sectiontaken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1 with the frame outline in broken lines;

Fig. 4 is 'a fragmentary elevation depicting another modification; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view showing a control element for use witharrangements such as those shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

As shown in the drawings, my automatic numbering and notching machine isprovided with a casing having opposed side frames 20 and 22 which areheld in spaced relationship by two straps 24 and 26 attached thereto inany convenient manner. A suitable cover, not shown, may be provided forthe mechanism, in which case the cover can rest on a seat suitablyfashioned in the side frames and may be fastened thereto. The entiremachine may beportable, and, if desired, supported upon a desk or table,or readily stored when not in use.

Operating power is furnished by an electric motor 28, shown as supportedby a shelf 30 under the machine, although, if desired, it may be mountedelsewhere with respect to the operating mechanism. Conductors 3| aredepicted as leading to a switch 33 which is in turn connected to asource of current for supplying the motor.

It will be understood, of course, that other driving means may beemployed, if desired.

Feeding mechanism On one end of the shaft of the motor 28, I mount apulley 32 over which a belt 34 is trained for transmitting torque toanother pulley 36 secured to a feed driving shaft 38. The shaft 38carries several driving pulleys 40, which in cooperation with a similarnumber of idler pulleys 42 supported on a shaft 44 drive a like numberof narrow feeding belts .46. These belts 46 constitute the carryingmeans for feeding cards 48 or other work to be printed and notched, tothe various positions which they assume in their progress through themachine and delivering them into a suitable container (not shown) whenthe work has been completed.

The belts 46 are made relatively narrow so that when one of the cards 48is brought to a position of rest for effecting a numbering or notchingoperation, the belts Will slip beneath it, permitting the card to remainstationary without subjecting it or the belts to undue friction or wear.Under some circumstances, it may be found that the pressure caused bythe printing of the numbers on the cards or notching them, tends tointerfere with the continuous movement of the belts. In such cases, thebelts may be trained over and under idler rollers 50 to reduce frictionat the points of dwell and thereby permit continuous rotation. Asclearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, when such rollers areemployed, a portion of the die block adjacent to the belts must be cutaway. Any two of the bolts 46 will provide sufficient frictionalengagement Interruption of the feed of the cards or other "work occursat two points'in the machine; one below the elements for printing thenumbers, and

the other below the punches for notching or .otherwise punching the cardwith a representation corresponding to the number applied by jtheprinting elements. The required interruptions may be effected by aneccentric drive such as that shown in the drawings wherein a shaft 52,suitably rotated, has an eccentric 54 secured 3 thereto for cooperationwith a strap 58 carried opposite end of the lever 82 is pivotallyconnected by a pin 18 to a reciprocating stop 12 which operates insuitable guides 14 to project periodically above the surface of thetable 18 into the path of travel of the cards 48 to serve as a temporaryabutment therefor, restraining them from further forward movement untilthe numbering operation has been completed. A similar stop 18 isarranged in a position to serve as a temporary abutment for the cardsduring the punching operation. This stop 18 is pivotally connected toone end of lever 84 by means of a pin 88, through which the stop isperiodically reciprocated in its guides 82 to project above the table 18into the path of the cards or other work. After a card has received itsprinting number by the prmting mechanism 84, continued rotation of theeccentric 54 will move the stop 12 downwardly and out of the path oftravel of the card, which will then be carried forward into positionbelow the punch or punches 88 for the notching of the card. By this timethe eccentric will have revolved so as to bring the stop 18 into thepath of travel of the card, against which it will be held until thenotching operation has been performed, whereupon, continued rotation ofthe eccentric will move the stop 18 downwardly out of the path of travelof the card which will then be carried on and deposited in a pile orreceived by a suitable container. It will be clear that the two stopsare thus synchronized to move upwardly and downwardly in unison as theeccentric 54 is revolved. The movement of the stops is effected in timedrelationship with respect to the numbering printer 84 which is driven bya train of gears from the motor 28. The motor shaft carries anotherpulley 81, which drives through a chain or belt 88, a sprocket or pulley98 carried by a shaft 92. At one side of the frame, the shaft 92 carriesa spur 94 which through similar gears 98 and 98, drives the shaft of theprinting and numbering mechanism 84. I

The punching mechanism On the other side of the frame and secured to theshaft 82, a ear I88 is provided which meshes with a gear I82iiiounted ona shaft I84 carrying a gear I88 as well. The gear I88 is arranged meshwith a gear I88 which is secured to the eccentric shaft 52.

As clearly set forth in my Patent No. 2,211,310 issued August 13, 1940,a gang of punches 88 will be provided, which in the case of Perkinscards of the type referred to using the '1-42-1 system of punching, willbe operated in groups card or-other work acrossthe cutand accordingly:the rollers and i belts are so arranged that thedesired results are fachieved. f 1 r v w of one to three out of four for representing eachdigit. As depicted in Figs. 3 and 4 of the draw-' ings, each punch 88 issupported from a punch lever II8 by a pivot pin H2. The punches andtheir levers are normally maintained out of the path of the work by coilsprings H4 suspended from the frame by suitable hooks I I8. The lowerends of the springs are flexibly connected to the punch levers at theirleft ends as viewed in the drawings, and it is necessary to overcome thebias of these springs to displace the punches into the path of the workfor completing a punching operation. The punch levers are suitablypivoted, as by a rod II8 mounted in the frame. A punch lever guide I28,which may assume the form of a comb is also supported by the frame. Theprincipal differences of the present invention over that of my copendingapplication reside in the manner of selecting and actuating the punchesto operate in the proper sequence.

The invention herein described contemplates control of the punches by apreformed pattern produced on or in a web of material. The punchesthemselves and their operating levers are essentially like thosedescribed in my said Patent No. 2,211,310. In this case however, thepunches and their levers are actuated by compressed air acting upon apiston. The extension I22 of the lever H8 is coupled by a. suitable clipI52 and pivot I54 to a rod I58 carrying a piston I58. The piston isreciprocated in a cylinder I88, the lower end of which is connected by afluid line I82 with a port I84 whose communication with a compressed airmanifold I88 is controlled by the preperforated web I88. The web iswound upon a core I18 carried by the shaft 92 which is synchronized withthe feed and numbering mechanisms. The web is unwound from a core I12which is mounted upon a spindle I14. The piston is biased towards itslower position as shown in the drawings by a coil spring I18. A flapvalve I18 is provided in the piston to close when a charge of air isdirected against it from the manifold and to open when the supply is cutoif. When the piston is forced upwardly to deflect the lever anddisplace the punch into the the path of the work, an aperture I88 in thecylinder casing permits the system to avoid back suction and allowminimum opposition to the up movement of the piston.

The manner in which the control web or relay web may be perforated isillustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings. The lowermost perforation showncontrols the connection between the manifold.

and the fluid lineto the piston for actuating the 1 punch. The nextperforation controls the 2 punch mechanism. ,The following twoperforations control the l and 2 punch mechanisms, and so on. The reelsfor the pattern web are shown more or less diagrammatically, since itmust be remembered that some compensation is necessary for theincreasing diameter of the web as it winds about the core I18. suitableprovision may be made by interposing feed rollers to render uniform thespeed of the web passing the manifold; or the speed of the shaft 92 mayhe graduated to suit the increasing diameter; or the spacing of theperforations in the web itself may be varied to the same effect.

The modification shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings is identical with thatof Fig. 3 except for the fact that the manifold I88 is connected to asuction line, and accordingly the line I82 is conneeted to the top ofthe cylinder I88 instead of to the base thereof. Its mode of operationwill be evident to those skilled in the art.

With the modifications of Figs. 3 and 4, the pattern webs and fluidports may be considered relays for controlling the pistons I58, oralternatively, relays may be interposed ii and where desired to giveincreased power to the punches.

In operation, it will be understood that the printing mechanism will beone number ahead of the punching mechanism where a card is to receivecorresponding representations from both mechanisms. This is true becausethe work is printed and punched in separate, sequential steps.

Having described my invention, what I regard as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine of the class described which notches a notch-receivingmeans, means to feed said notch-receiving means, means to stop saidnotch-receiving means periodically, a plurality of notching punches,means to hold said punches normally out of the path of thenotch-receiving means, punch control means which actuate said punches,means to actuate said punches selectively, a pneumatic control in eachof said punch control means, means operated by a pneumatic means toactuate said punches, and sliding means to open and close ports leadingto said pneumatically actuated means.

2. In a machine of the class described which edge notches a card, havingmeans to feed said cards, a pair 01' stops operated simultaneously tostop the cards periodically, each stop controlling a separate card, aplurality of punches, punch control means for producing displacement ofcertain' punches from their normal position to a position to a positionintersecting the path of the work, means to actuate each punch, acompressed air control for each of said punch control means.

- punch control, said means comprising a resilient floating directacting punch carrying lever, an extension on each lever, a cylinder, apiston therein,

a piston rod, one end of which is connected to said piston, the otherend being pivotally connected to said extension, and means to open andclose a port to admit compressed air to said cylinder.

5. In a machine of the class described which edge notches a card, havingmeans to feed said cards, a pair of stops operated simultaneously tostop the cards periodically, each stop controlling a separate card, aplurality of edge notching punches, means normally maintaining them outoi. the path of the work, punch control means for producing displacementof said punches from their normal position to a position intersectingthe path of said work, means for operating said punch control, meanscomprising a resilient floating direct acting punch carrying lever, anextension on each lever, means operated by compressed air to actuatesaid lever, and means arranged to periodically open and close portsleading to said compressed air means.

6. In a machine of the class described which edge notches a card, havingmeans to feed said cards, a pair of stops operated simultaneously tostop the cards periodically, each stop controlling a separate card, aplurality of punches, means,

one for each punch, to hold said punches normally out oi. position,compressed air to reciprocate said punches, and means arranged toperiodically open and close ports leading to said means operated bycompressed air to actuate said punches, and sliding means to open andclose ports leading to said fluid actuating means in timed relation withthe work feeding means.

3. In a machine of the class described which edge notches a card, havingmeans to feed said cards, a pair of stops operated simultaneously tostop the cards periodically, each stop controlling a separate card, aplurality of punches, a compressed air control for each punch adapted toinfluence each oi said punch control means. means operated by compressedair to actuate said punches, and sliding means to selectively open andclose certain ports leading to said punch actuating means, the workfeeding means arranged to alctuate said opening and closing meansperiodca y.

4. In a machine of the class described which edge notches a card, havingmeans to feed said cards, a pair of stops operated simultaneously tostop the cards periodically, each stop controlling a separate card, aplurality of edge notching punches, means normally maintaining them outof the path of the work, punch control means for producing displacementof said punches from their normal position to a position intersecting ascompressed air means in timed relation to said stops.

7. In a machine of the class described which edge notches a card, havingmeans to feed said cards, a pair of stops operated simultaneously tostop the cards periodically, each stop controlling a separate card, aplurality of punches, means, one for each punch, to hold said punchesnormally out of position, a lever for each punch to reciprocate it andthereby edge notch a card, a cylinder for each lever, a reciprocatingpiston therein, means to connect each piston to each lever, compressedair to reciprocate said punches, and means arranged to periodicallyopen-and close ports leading to said cylinders in timed relation to saidstops.

8. In a machine of the class described which edge notches a card, havingmeans to feed said cards, a pair 01 stops operated simultaneously tostop the cards periodically, each stop controlling a separate card, aplurality of punches, means, one for each punch, to hold said punchesnormally out of position, a compressed air control for each punchadapted to influence each or said punch control means, means operated bycompressed air to actuate said punches, and sliding means to open andclose ports leading to said punch actuating means in timed relation withsaid stops.

THOMAS COLEMAN ANDREWS.

